How the Evil Mars Adept Stole Christmas
by Griffinkhan
Summary: My little contribution to the Christmas season :) It's Christmas, and all the Whos down in Whovil-erm, Adepts down in Vale are excited about the holidays. However, a certain evil Mars adept is not too happy about it... COMPLETE!
1. Saturos's Holiday Dilemma

Since everybody else seems to be getting into the holiday spirit with Christmas stories, I decided to write one of my own! This is a Golden Sun version of Dr. Seuss's tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I was going to do some of it in poem format, but I couldn't seem to find my family's copy of the book. So, it's just a normal story, except, it parallels the Grinch's plotline. Sort of. 

Oh, this takes place one year after the Elemental Stars are stolen. Jenna and Kraden were rescued, and everyone, including Alex (who wasn't that bad after all) have returned to Vale for the holidays. 

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Golden Sun, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

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It was a normal day in Vale, or as normal it can be on Christmas Eve. A light blanket of crisp, white snow covered the ground and treetops, decorating the windowpanes with frost and blanketing the thatched roofs. Isaac stood on a ladder outside his home, attempting to affix a large gold star to the eaves.

"A little to the right, Isaac!" his mother called from the ground. Dora had really gotten into the Christmas spirit this year, wearing red and green all the time and bedecking the house, inside and out, with festive decorations. Everyone in the village attempted to give her home a wide berth recently, as she was apt to spontaneously recruit passerby into hanging lights or trimming trees.

Isaac balanced precariously on the top rung of the wooden ladder, holding the star up against the face of the house. "Is this good?" he called down. He desperately wanted to escape from his holiday-minded mother and meet up with Garet and the others. Jenna had said they were going Christmas tree hunting again. The Mayor wanted the tallest tree ever seen in these parts to stand in the main square. The village had been scouring the woods for the past week, and still nothing suitable had been found.

"Up more!" shouted Dora, her breath wreathing her face like Santa Claus's beard. "You almost have it!"

Isaac stretched out, holding the star up to the very top point of the house, right above the door. His mother had insisted in him doing it this way. He had pointed out it would be much easier, not to mention less dangerous, if he had gone up onto the roof and affixed the star from there. Dora, however, had become very wary about people climbing around on top of the house after the little incident with Garet last year.

"Perfect!" said Dora, beaming. "Now hammer it in!"

Isaac didn't see how that was possible, considering the position he was in, standing on his tiptoes on the very top rung, but he resignedly attempted it. Anything to get him off this accursed ladder! Holding the ornament in one hand and a hammer in the other he had just managed to nail the star securely to the wooden framework of the house when a loud voice shouted suddenly from below.

"ISAAC!"

Startled, Isaac jumped. This, however, is not the best thing to do when twelve feet off the ground on a rickety ladder. Dropping the hammer below him, he teetered precariously for a second before plunging off the ladder to the ground far below.

WHUMP!

Fortunately, something soft broke Isaac's fall, so he was unhurt. Unfortunately, that something was Garet.

"Gmmf ommf mfff!" came a muffled voice from underneath the Venus Adept. Isaac quickly jumped to his feet, accidentally trodding on his friend's nose as he did so.

"Sorry, Garet!" Isaac said apologetically, as the Mars Adept sat up, rubbing his back with one hand and his nose with the other. "You startled me!"

"I could tell." said Garet dryly. "I came to ask if you're coming along with the tree hunt. Everyone else is coming." He began to tick off names on his fingers. "Jenna, Felix, Ivan, Mia, Sheba, Alex..."

Isaac looked hopefully over at his mother, who was looking up at the newly hung star and frowning. "I think it needs to be a bit more to the right..."

Isaac groaned inwardly. He did NOT want to get up on that ladder again. 

"...But that's all right." She turned back to her son, smiling. "Go ahead with your friends, Isaac. You've been helping me all morning. You deserve a break."

Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, M..."

"First, though, I need both of you to set up my Nativity scene."

"But..."

"No buts!" she said firmly. "Two strong boys like you shouldn't sit around all day!

She bustled off into the house to get out the tall wooden figurines. Behind her back, Garet shot Isaac a bewildered glance.

"Is she always like this?" he mouthed. "Contradicting herself every two seconds, I mean?"

"Only at Christmas." Isaac said, resignedly following his mother indoors. 

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"Where are those two?"

Jenna looked at her watch distractedly, then peered up the mountain trail that led to the upper parts of the village. "Garet went to find Isaac a half hour ago!" she said fretfully. "What's taking them so long?"

"Dora's probably pulled them into another mad decorating scheme." her brother, Felix, replied. He pulled his green cape tighter around his shoulders. During his four years traveling the world, he had been in many harsh places, but he still never could get used to the cold. 

"You're probably right." said Jenna. She gave one last glance up the mountain before turning back to where the tree-finding group had assembled. Besides Felix and herself, Ivan, Sheba, Mia, and Alex also stood around the Town Square. Jenna smiled a little, thinking how wonderful it was that their quest was finally over. It was nice to be able to spend Christmas surrounded by friends in a familiar place, without being kidnapped or having to worry about evil people trying to take over the world. Last year's Christmas had not been fun at all, as it had been while she was still in the company of Saturos and Menardi. She didn't think the Mars Adepts believed in Christmas. They certainly hadn't let the holiday slow their plans any, and definitely didn't give any gifts. Jenna had been very thankful, therefore, when the pair had been thwarted before lighting the Mars Lighthouse and everyone had been able to return to Vale two months ago. 

Jenna looked over at her companions. She wasn't too cold, being a Mars Adept, but Ivan and Sheba were bundled up in layer upon layer of thick coats. She assumed this had something to do with coming from a warm climate, as both Jupiter Adepts were from southern areas where it rarely became cold, and never snowed. Mia and Alex showed no sign of the weather at all, but then again, they did come from Imil.

"There they are!" said Ivan, pointing up to the mountain with a mittened hand. "Finally. Maybe we can get this tree hunt over with and get back inside. I'm _freezing_!"

"You two don't have to come, if you're that cold." said Jenna. "I'm sure we can find a tree without you."

"No way!" said Sheba. "We're all right. Besides, the walk will warm us up."

Just then, Garet and Isaac appeared, panting from their run down the mountain. "Just...barely...got...away!" gasped Garet, clouds of steam forming around his head from his heavy breathing. 

"My Mom made us put out her Nativity figures." Isaac said, catching his breath. "All two hundred of them."

"I never thought I'd get so sick of looking at shepherds and wooden sheep!" said Garet. Stifled giggles were heard all around.

"We'd better get going.," said Jenna. "Christmas is tomorrow, and we need a tree!"

"Right." said Isaac. Wrapping his yellow scarf more tightly around his neck, he strode off for the woods surrounding the village. "I think I know a good place to start looking."

The other Adepts followed behind him, laughing and talking, excited about the fast approaching prospect of Christmas.

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"Just look at them." Saturos spat, gesturing one hand out at the cozy village below him. "All happy over Christmas. Bah, humbug!"

"Quit saying that." said Menardi, in an unconcerned voice. The pair of them stood on Mount Aleph, overlooking the Christmas-decorated Vale. She filed one of her long pink nails delicately. "It won't get us anywhere."

"They make me so mad, though." the Saturos fumed. "Running around, putting up decorations and shouting 'Merry Christmas' and giving gifts..."

Menardi nonchalantly flipped through the pages of a magazine as he continued.

"Do you know what today is?" he said, his voice rising in volume "Today's Christmas Eve! That means that tomorrow is Christmas Day!"

"Bright, aren't you?" Menardi drawled, turning another page.

"Tomorrow all those little Adepts will be waking up and finding _presents_!" Saturos shouted, ignoring her comment. "They'll bugle their boozletubes and rattle their bongledrums!"

"The whats?"

"All the noise, _noise_, _NOISE_, NOISE!" he screeched, in a voice so loud it was amazing the villagers didn't hear it. Menardi covered her ears.

"All right, I understand!" she said, fishing around for a pair of earplugs.

"And then, they'll all get together and have a feast!" he said, in a slightly lower voice. "With turkey, and ham, and cranberries, and fresh roast beast!"

"What kind of beast?"

"But then, the worst thing of all happens." Saturos said, beginning to pace up and down on the snow-covered ground. "They all gather round the big tree in the center square... and they start to... SING!"

Menardi did not answer, as she had finally found the earplugs. 

"LISTEN TO ME!" Saturos screamed, ripping them out of her ears.

"Hey!" said Menardi. "Give them back!"

"WE MUST STOP CHIRSTMAS FROM COMING!" the blue skinned man roared, waving the earplugs in the air. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! _WE MUST STOP CHRISTMAS FROM COMING_!"

"FINE!" shouted Menardi! "_Fine! _We'll stop Christmas. But, how?"

"I have an idea." said Saturos, rubbing his hands together and grinning evilly. "Just wait."

"Oh." said Menardi, giving him an odd look. "…Have you been taking your medication, Saturos?"

"What medication?" said Saturos, still grinning evilly.

"Thought so." she said. There was silence for a moment, then she realized something.

"Saturos," she asked, trying to ignore the insane look in his eyes. "How did you know about Vale's Christmas traditions when this is our first time here during the holidays?"

Saturos just cackled psychotically, and Menardi decided not to press the point any further.

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Tell me what you think! Is it good, or just another deranged product of my mind?

Sheba: [typing] _I'd opt for the latter._

Shh! You weren't supposed to answer that!

Sheba: [typing] _Whatever. _


	2. The Plan

I love snow! Snow is cool! There's like, 4 inches of snow outside, and they canceled school today and tomorrow!

Mia: Four inches?! Where I come from, the snow had to be higher than the houses to cancel school!

That's 'cause you're from Imil, Mia! Around here, it doesn't snow much, so if it covers the road, they cancel school!

Mia: Did you notice all the sentences you've written so far end with exclamation points?!

Who cares?!

Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

[A. N: For purposes of this story, I'm making Isaac's house have a guest bedroom and having his mom's bed be in a separate room, instead of right out in the living room. Also, they have a kitchen and other things that normal houses would have]

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"Make way! Tree team coming through!"

Isaac and his friends pushed carefully through a crowd of rosy-cheeked Valean villagers, carrying a huge pine tree on their shoulders. Isaac had been sad to cut the towering evergreen, but there was no way for them to have transported such a big tree alive. Besides, the villagers always planted several new trees after Christmas so there would always be pines for the next year's celebrations. He and the others cautiously delivered the behemoth to the center of the village, near the Psynergy stone, where the mayor and several strong men were waiting to put it up.

"Thank you Isaac, everyone." The mayor said, beaming at the eight companions. "My, this is a giant you found this year!"

"How come Isaac is the only one who gets mentioned?" Garet whispered jokingly.

"Because he's smarter than you, Garet!" said Jenna. She always enjoyed teasing the big Adept.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Thanks for agreeing with me." said Jenna, smugly. The others all burst out laughing at the look on Garet's face when he realized he'd been tricked.

"She always gets me with that one." said Garet, his face turning slightly red.

"It's all right, Garet." said Isaac. "Why don't we all go inside and warm up?"

This suggestion was greeted well all around. The eight headed across the snowy ground for the village inn, which had become a gathering place of sorts during the holidays. Behind them the other villagers brought out boxes of ornaments and garlands of popcorn and beads to decorate the new tree. As Isaac watched the villagers busily helping one another, he felt a sensation that he hadn't felt in a long time. The feeling that at last, there could be peace.

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"Here's the plan, Menardi."

Saturos handed over a large scroll, written messily and covered with crude drawings. "Tonight, while everyone is asleep, we'll go down to the village. I'll dress up like Santa Claus, and you'll be my reindeer. We'll sneak into each house, and steal all their presents, and decorations, and food! Without them, Christmas certainly can't come!"

"Yeah, whatever." said Menardi. She had her CD player on, and wasn't really listening.

"And then," said Saturos, with the evil grin once again plastered across his face, "in the morning, when everyone wakes up, they'll see their presents are gone, and their decorations are missing, and the food for their feast has disappeared! Then, Menardi, then, every one of those Whos down in Whoville-I mean Adepts down in Vale- will cry out, 'Boo ho!' "

"Mmm..." said Menardi, tapping her foot in time to the music.

"We must get ready!" Saturos cried, rushing into the cave that somehow had appeared on the mountain and carrying out such items as a wooden sled, some curtains, a sowing machine and a rubber ducky. "We only have a few hours to prepare!"

"Right." said Menardi, as Saturos began working madly on making a Santa Claus hat and a coat.

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"Mia, I need your help in here!"

Mia sighed at the sound of Dora's voice. It was just her luck to be picked to stay in Isaac's house for the holidays. Not that she didn't enjoy Isaac's company, but his mother was making life extremely unpleasant with her frenzy of Christmas preparations.

"Sorry, Mia." said Isaac apologetically. He was standing on a ladder for the second time that day, hanging the ornaments that Sheba held up to him on the top branches of the main Christmas tree. The entire room was bedecked with every imaginable form of decoration possible. From snowmen and Santa statues, to a smaller, but just as extensive version of the Nativity set outside, to four small, live trees that his mom had made him find, the room was a riot of red and gold and green. Isaac felt that his mother was going a bit overboard, especially since she was making his friends do so much of the helping out. Correction- his mother was going a LOT overboard.

Mia sighed and headed into the kitchen. A blast of steam greeted her as she pushed open the wooden door, and an extremely pleasant aroma greeted the Mercury Adept's nose. Isaac's mom might be obsessive about Christmas, Mia thought, but she was an extremely good cook!

Mia helped the older woman to pull out a baking sheet of Christmas cookies. Together, they set it on the table, which was already overloaded with food for the holiday meal.

"How many people are you expecting, ma'am?" she asked, awed by the sheer amount of the cuisine. Besides the table, all of the counters and cupboards, as well as the pantry, were filled to bursting with hams, turkeys, cakes and cookies, and everything else one eats at Christmastime.

"Just the eight of you, Kraden, Jenna's grandparents and Garet's family." she admitted. "But you know Garet- by the end of tomorrow, all of this'll be gone."

Mia laughed. It seemed just like a thing the Mars Adept would do.

"Tell Isaac and Sheba that as soon as they're finished with that tree, they can stop decorating." Dora said, setting a new batch of cookies in the oven.

"All right." said Mia, turning to leave.

"But first..." said Dora, and Mia sighed. This was going to be a long Christmas Eve.

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"You want me to do WHAT?"

It was dark out, and the villager of Vale had finally drifted off to sleep. High up on Mount Aleph, however, the two Mars Adepts were still very much awake. Menardi stood, looking at Saturos as if he was a being from another planet. At the moment, he actually resembled one, his red eyes glowing more maniacally than usual. He was wearing a fake white beard, a red hat with a cotton ball on the end, and a very badly made red coat. Beside him was a rickety old sled, with a large, empty red bag on top of it.

"Put on the antlers!" Saturos commanded, with an evil cackle. "You're the reindeer."

"I will do no such thing!"

"Do it!" Saturos said, giggling insanely and producing a box from behind his back. "Or I'll through your make up kit off the mountain."

Menardi's eyes flickered from the box, to the antlers, to the box, then back to the antlers. "All right." she sighed, taking the antlers and putting them on. Saturos immediately threw a rope around her waist, tying her to the sled.

"On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen!" he said, still laughing crazily and flicking a whip in the air. "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!"

He's finally cracked, Menardi thought as she ducked beneath the flying whip and started down the mountain, bearing Saturos and the sled behind her. He's been on the brink for a while now, but he's finally done it. Resignedly, she turned on the path and passed the sanctum. The little sled, with "Santa Claus" and his "Reindeer", slid swiftly down the dark mountainside towards the sleepy village below.

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Please remember to tell me what you think! Press the little

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	3. Saturos Claus is Coming to Town

Disclaimer: [singing] All I want for Christmas is to own Golden Sun, to own Golden Sun, to own Golden Sun... 

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Santa's sleigh barreled down the side of Mount Aleph, skidding to a halt in front of Garet's family's home. Saturos giggled gleefully, producing a ladder and a suction hose from the same unknown place the cave had appeared from earlier. Attaching the hose to the large red sack, he turned it on and began sucking up the family's outdoor decorations. He mumbled nonsense under his breath as he worked, cackling evilly and bouncing up and down.

"Bye bye, ornaments!" he said, sucking up the tinsel that bedecked the outside of the house. "Bye bye, wreaths! Bye bye, Santa!"

After setting the wooden model of Santa Claus safely in his now-less-empty bag, he placed the ladder up against the house and climbed it, dragging the suction hose along with him. "Now, down the chimney!" he said, with the by now very familiar evil grin plastered across his face. "If Santa can do it, so can I!"

Menardi sighed as the Mars Adept jumped down the square hole, holding the vacuum and laughing his head off.

"Out of all the partners in the world," she muttered, shaking her head. "I get stuck with _him._"Then, she dragged out her CD player and sat down on the sled to wait. 

Inside the house, Saturos tiptoed past the sleeping occupants of the dwelling. Using his trusty vacuum, he first sucked up all of the stockings hanging in a row above the fireplace (labeled Garet, Garet's Brother, Garet's Sister, Ivan, and Alex), and their nails as well. Then, he turned his attention to the rest of the house. Tinsel, trappings, presents, and the tree all went into the gaping maw of his suction tube. He even raided the pantry, sucking up what little food Garet had left in there from last night's dinner. Then, when he was sure every last vestige of Christmas decoration had disappeared from the premises, he climbed back up the chimney, hauling the tube up after him. 

"To their neighbors!" he cried. "They don't have a Capital One no-hassle card!"

Menardi sighed, ducking another crack of the whip and pulling the slightly heavier sled towards the next home. They zoomed through the village, raiding home after home, rapidly pilfering the Christmas decorations that the villagers had worked so hard to put up. Saturos made her pass by Isaac's house, as it was the most heavily decorated in town and he knew it would take the most time to empty. Better to save it for last, as it was near the top of the mountain and would allow for a quick getaway once their work there was completed. So, down the mountain the sled went, each building they passed having its festive spirit disappear as the red sack became larger and larger. It took Saturos awhile to get the gigantic tree in the town square to fit in his bag, but he managed it in the end, and by 2 A.M every home in the village besides Isaac's looked as if Christmas had never touched it.

"Back up!" Saturos commanded, his whip flicking dangerously over Menardi's head. "Back up the mountain!"

"You're nuts if you think I'm dragging this thing all the way back up there!" she said disgustedly, gesturing at the towering red sack that Saturos was perched upon. Then, she remembered that Saturos WAS nuts.

"Do it!" Saturos giggled, waving her makeup case in the air. "Or else..." 

"Fine." Menardi groaned, ducking more whip cracks and straining to move the giant sled. It was not easy work, and by the time she managed to pull it, panting, into Isaac's front yard, the sun was beginning to peek from behind the trees.

"Hurry up!" she said, gasping for breath and slumping against the sled. "They'll start to wake up soon!"

Saturos jumped down from the sled and set to work. All two hundred three-foot-tall shepherds, angels and wise men went in first, then the tinsel and the star Isaac had hung, as well as the wooden reindeer grazing on the lawn and the Santa sled on the roof. The outdoor decorations gone, he leaned the ladder against the side of the house and clambered up it, his boots making footprints on the white layer of snow covering the straw. He made his way over to the chimney, chuckling in a strange, unnatural high-pitched squeak that reminded Menardi of mice. He was almost to the chimney when his foot plunged through the thatching and into the room below. Menardi covered her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing as "Santa" struggled to free himself.

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Below, inside the house, Sheba opened one eye drowsily. What had that noise been? She listened carefully, but nothing else came. Deciding it must have been her imagination, she rolled over and drifted back to sleep.

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Saturos finally managed to pull his leg free of the roof, edging carefully over to the chimney, He dropped down his hose, jumping in after it. The room was coated in decorations. Not an inch of wall or table or mantelpiece sat without some form of ornamentation hanging from it or sitting upon it. A enormous tree stood in the center of the room, with a mountain of presents beside it and a tiny scale model of Vale beneath it. A train labeled, "Christmas Express" encircled the village's foot. Saturos smiled his patented "Evil Grin" once again, then set his vacuum on "High". At once, the decorations flew through the air, up the hose and into his bag outside. 

Menardi watched as the red bag grew larger and larger, nearly doubling in size_. Boy, this family really went full throttle with the decorations this year!_ she thought. A faint "Meow!" was heard as the household cat went zooming through the tube and into the sack. Menardi then realized with a sigh that she would have to drag this heavy burden all the way back up Mount Aleph. She would not relish that prospect. 

Within, Saturos was having a bit of a difficulty. He had emptied the pantry, and all the other rooms of the house of their adornments. The only thing remaining was the tree, but it was too big to fit into his vacuum. He resorted to pushing the tree up through the chimney separately, but it wasn't fitting. He put his back to the thing and shoved with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, a noise caught his attention. Looking towards the staircase, he saw Cindy Lou Who- I mean Sheba- descending.

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Sheba had woken up again a few minutes after she had heard the noise. She realized that she was terribly thirsty. Attempting to ignore it, she tried to fall asleep again, but her parched throat made that impossible. Sleepily, she clambered slowly out of bed and pulled on a robe, shuffling down the steps to the kitchen to get a glass of water. It was then when she noticed a very familiar looking someone standing by the fireplace trying to shove the Christmas tree up the chimney. He had on a red coat and hat, and a white beard.

"Santa?" Sheba said, rubbing her eyes. She was still not quite awake yet, for which Saturos was lucky. "What are you doing with the tree?"

"Umm.." said Saturos, thinking fast. "There's a light on one side that won't light up quite right. So, I'm taking it back to the North Pole and letting the elves fix it."

"Oh." said Sheba, yawning. "Well, go on, then." She mumbled sleepily. Making her way across the now empty room, she went into the kitchen and got her glass of water. As she was about to head back upstairs, though, she stopped.

"You look…familiar." she said, to Saturos, who was still trying to push the tree up the chimney. 

"Well, of course I look familiar!' said Saturos, with a weak laugh. "I'm Santa Claus, aren't I?"

"…You're right." said Sheba, with another yawn. "Well, I'm going back to bed. G'night, Santa."

"Goodnight, Cindy L-I mean Sheba." said Saturos, and the tired Jupiter Adept plodded back up the steps to her room.

After Sheba had climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over her, however, she thought of something. The tree didn't _have_ any lights on it! Before she could think on this further, though, her weariness overcame her and she fell fast asleep.

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"That was close." Saturos said, wiping sweat off his forehead with his Santa hat. He then placed the hat back on and returned his attention to he Christmas tree. He mustered all his strength and gave it one last shove. With a pop! the tree shot up the chimney. The insane glint back in his eye, the Mars Adept quickly ascended after it.

"Come on, Menardi!" he said, back on the roof. He threw the tree to the snowy ground and clambered down the ladder behind it. Loading the tree into the overloaded bag, he took up his whip.

"To the Batcave!" he shouted.

"We don't have a Batcave." grumbled Menardi, reindeer antlers flopping as she heaved the heavy burden up the snow-covered slope. 

"Faster!" Saturos cried gleefully, getting the whip tangled in the antlers. "I want to be at the top of the mountain when all the Wh-Adepts wake up!"

"Easy for you to say." she said, as they passed the Sanctum and continued upwards. "You don't have to drag this thing." Below them, the village slumbered peacefully on, unaware that their Christmas decorations and presents had been stolen.

But not for long.

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One more chapter to go! This is going to be finished long before Christmas arrives. Oh, well.

Sheba: [typing] _Here's a short poem I wrote for you: Cindy Lou Sheba says, " Please Review!" …Do you like it?_

Don't quit your day job, Sheba.


	4. Happy Endings

Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

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Someone banging on the door awakened Isaac on Christmas morning. Grumpily, he quickly dressed and headed downstairs. His mother had already opened the door to find Garet, Ivan, Alex, Jenna and Felix standing there, all out of breath as they had obviously arrived in a hurry.

"What's wrong?" asked Dora.

"Decorations…all…gone…" Felix gasped.

"He means the decorations at our house have disappeared." said Jenna, who had recovered the quickest. "We came to see if the same thing's happened to you."

"All our decorations are gone, too" said Garet. "And of the presents and food. It's happened all over the village. 

Dora turned around and noticed for the first time that all of her carefully arranged Christmas decorations had completely vanished.

"But how?" she gasped. "I locked the door!"

Sheba and Mia, who had heard all the noise, now came downstairs as well. They both wore robes, Sheba's purple and Mia's blue, and looked very sleepy.

"What's going on?" asked Mia, with a yawn.

"All the presents are gone!" said Dora. "The tree, the nativity set, the food, everything! It's all gone!"

Everyone gasped. Sheba and Mia immediately looked awake.

"That's right!" said Jenna. "The presents are missing, too!"

"That means I won't be getting a Frodo Baggins action figure." said Isaac, looking downcast.

"Frodo Baggins action figure?" asked Mia. "Do they make such things?"

"The world gets stranger and stranger every day." muttered Sheba.

"And I won't get a new hair-care kit!" wailed Alex.

"And I won't get an Algebra book!" said Ivan.

"Ivan, that's not a bad thing." said Garet.

"Oh. You're right."

"How can we have Christmas without presents and decorations and food?" said Dora.

"I guess…I guess there's no Christmas this year." said Sheba. "We don't have any way to celebrate anymore."

Everyone but Isaac nodded sadly.

"Hold on, everyone." said Isaac. All the Adepts looked at him.

"Christmas isn't about gifts," he said. "It's not about decorations, either."

"Yeah," said Garet, "everyone knows it's about food." A death glare from Jenna made him fall silent.

"It's not about food, either, Garet." said Isaac, striding to the center of the room where the Christmas tree once stood. "Christmas is about being with those you love. It's about spending time together, and showing that you care. Giving gifts and decorating are just ways of doing that. Someone is trying to stop Christmas by taking away our ornaments and gifts and feast. I say we show them that Christmas is about more than material things. We must show them that Christmas cannot be stopped, or they will have won."

"Nice speech, Isaac." said Felix.

"He's right, though." said Dora. "We don't need presents to celebrate Christmas. We can continue with our traditions without them. Let's all go down to the square and sing carols like we do every year. That should show our thief that it's impossible to take Christmas away!"

A rousing cheer greeted this suggestion.

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"Any minute now." said Saturos, rubbing his hands together and staring eagerly down at the village. "Any minute now, they'll wake up and see their Christmas is gone. Then, they'll be sorry!"

Down below, the doors of the cottages began to open, and the villagers walked down the steps into the town square. There they all joined hands in a circle around where the giant tree formerly rested. Saturos produced a spyglass from somewhere, and peered through it.

"What are they doing?" he muttered. Menardi took the opportunity, while he was occupied, to take back her makeup case.

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Isaac stood in the square, with Mia holding his right hand and his mother holding his left, part of a great circle of villagers that had formed around the bare patch of snow where the tree once stood. Together, they stood still for a moment, then began to sing.

[A.N I have no idea of the actual words to the song. It's that annoying song they sing in the animated movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"]

__

Dahu dores, dahu dores

Welcome. Christmas, filled with light.

Dahu dores, dahu dores

Welcome, Christmas, filled with light!

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"How could they be singing?" shrieked Saturos. "I stopped Christmas! They don't have anything to sing about! AAGH!"

He covered his ears with his hands and started jumping around.

"I'm not listening, la de dah de dah da!"

"This has gone on long enough!" said Menardi. It was time to take matters into her own hands.

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Meanwhile, down in Vale, the villagers continued to sing:

__

Welcome, Christmas, dahu dahus

Welcome, Christmas, dahu dahus,

"That's enough!" came a voice from high above. "This isn't Golden Sun- the Musical, you know!"

All the villagers stopped singing to see who had spoken. A red object was barreling down the mountain.

"It's a bird!" said one villager.

"It's a plane!" yelled another.

"It's a second Mt. Aleph boulder!" screamed a third.

"No, it's not." said Isaac. "It's…"

"MENARDI?" all eight adepts said as the sled with its huge mound of a red bag slowed to a halt in the square. She was perched on top of the sack, holding Saturos in a straightjacket. How the sled had managed to get all the way down the slope without tipping over, with no one pulling it, no one will ever know.

"Right first time." said Menardi, jumping down from the sled and dragging Saturos with her. 

"Then you _are_ a bird?" said the first villager who had spoken, looking at her skeptically.

"No, I'm Menardi." said the Mars Adept, 

"But Menardi was the _fourth _guess." interjected another townsperson. "You said we were right the _first _time."

"Fine." Menardi sighed. "Right _fourth_ time. Now are you happy?"

All the assembled villagers nodded.

Menardi shook her head. Some people could be so picky. Then, she opened the sack, and all of the things Saturos had stolen tumbled out.

"Here's your stuff back." said Menardi. "It was Saturos's idea to steal it. I think he's gone insane."

"Purple flying cows!" screamed Saturos, and Menardi quickly gagged him.

"Wow, Menardi." said Isaac, as the other villagers rushed forwards to sort the bag of loot. "You were actually NICE for a change."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to make a habit of it." she said. Turning, she began to head towards the village exit, pulling Saturos along behind.

"Won't you stay for the feast?" asked the mayor. "We've got cookies, and cake, and roast beast."

"Naw," said Menardi. "I've have to take Saturos to a psychiatrist." Over her shoulder, she added, "Maybe some other time." The she paused. "Wait, I'm the bad guy, aren't I? Forget I said that."

The two Mars Adepts departed Vale, with Saturos still screaming about purple flying cows through his gag. Isaac watched them go until they disappeared from sight. 

"I'll never understand those two." Isaac said to Mia, who was standing beside him. 

"Hopefully, you'll never have to." she replied, then pulled him towards the place where tables were being set up for the feast. 'Come on. We have to get some food before Garet demolishes it!"

Isaac smiled, allowing himself to be led back to the hubbub of hungry villagers. He sat down along the table, surrounded by his friends and family. Waiting for the mayor to cut the roast beast and start the celebration, he thought how despite the odds, this Christmas had turned out to be peaceful after all. Even without his Frodo Baggins action figure.

*~THE END~*

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I hope you liked my story! Please leave a donation in the review box as you leave. Have a very merry Christmas!


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